“Nashville” is the Top Scripted Show in its Slot for its 8th Straight Original in W18-34

For the First Time in 3 Years, ABC Beats Fox with “Idol” on Thursday in Adults 18-49

Topping “Idol” for the 2nd Week in a Row, “Grey’s” is Thursday’s No. 1 TV Show

“Scandal” Equals Series Highs in Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34,

Building on “Grey’s” for the First Time Ever with Young Women

“Shark Tank” is Friday’s No. 1 Series in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd Time in 4 Originals

Friday’s Top Newsmag, “20/20” Draws its 2nd-Biggest Audience Since December

With “The Ten Commandments,” ABC is the No. 1 Entertainment Network

On Saturday Among Adults 18-49, Hitting an 11-Week High on the Night

Week No. 27

During the week of March 25, 2013, ABC earned second place in Total Viewers (7.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (1.7/5), beating both NBC (w/”The Voice” premieres = 5.4 million and 1.6/5) and Fox (w/”Idol” = 5.2 million and 1.6/4).The Net outdrew NBC by 1.7 million viewers and Fox by 1.9 million viewers, while holding a 6% advantage in Adults 18-49 over each net.ABC was No. 1 for the 3rd straight week with Women 18-49 (tied w/CBS).

Featuring Week 2 of “DWTS” Season 16 and “Castle,” ABC stood as Monday’s most-watched TV net (5th time in 6 weeks), beating runner-up NBC with “The Voice” premiere and the return of “Revolution” by 1.7 million viewers (13.2 million vs. 11.5 million). For the 2nd week in a row, “DWTS” was the most-watched TV show overall on Monday and “Castle” was the night’s most-watched scripted program.

“Dancing with the Stars” (8:00-10:02 p.m.)

Up over Week 2 of Season 15 by 2.1 million viewers and 14% in Adults 18-49, ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” was the most-watched show in its 2-hour time period, outdrawing the season opener of “The Voice” by 7% in head-to-head competition (14.5 million vs. 13.6 million). Among Adults 18-49, “DWTS” outdelivered Fox’s dramas in each hour (“Bones”/”The Following”), leading by 14% on average in its time period (2.4/6 vs. 2.1/6).

“Castle” (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

ABC’s “Castle” (10.6 million) was the most-watched TV show in the 10 o’clock hour (5th straight telecast), topping CBS “Hawaii Five-0” by 2.0 million viewers (8.6 million) and the return of “Revolution” by a best-ever 3.6 million viewers (7.0 million). In addition, the ABC drama outdelivered “Hawaii Five-0” in both Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

Tuesday

Opposite all-original competition, ABC (9.9 million) earned No. 2 to CBS on Tuesday, outdrawing NBC with the premiere of “The Voice” by 3.3 million viewers (6.6 million) and Fox by 5.8 million viewers (4.1 million). The Net delivered Tuesday’s most-watched unscripted series with the opener of “DWTS: The Results Show,” and “Body of Proof” topped the 10 o’clock hour over CBS’ “Golden Boy” for the first time in viewers and young adults.

Boosting ABC up to a strong second in the 9 o’clock hour, the 16th season opener of “DWTS: The Results Show” grew by double digits from its Season 15 premiere in Total Viewers (+14% - 13.4 million vs. 11.8 million) and Adults 18-49 (+14% - 2.4/6 vs. 2.1/6). ABC’s dancing results show dominated original comedies in the hour among Adults 18-49 on both Fox (+26% over “New Girl”/”Mindy Project” = 1.9/5) and NBC (+50% over “The Voice”-led “Go On”/”New Normal” = 1.6/4). In addition, it finished No. 1 in its slot with key Women (W18-49/W25-54), while ranking as Tuesday’s most-watched unscripted show, with a 1.0 million viewer advantage over NBC’s “The Voice” (12.4 million from 8:00-9:00 p.m.). Olympic Gold medalist Dorothy Hamill was the first celebrity to leave the competition in Season 16, removing herself on the advice of her spine surgeon.

In viewers and young adults, it was the top non-finale delivery for any “The Results Show” telecast in Adults 18-49 since May 8, 2012.

“Body of Proof” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

Posting new season highs for the 2nd straight week, ABC’s “Body of Proof” ranked No. 1 in the 10 o’clock hour over CBS’ “Golden Boy” and “Smash” in Total Viewers, Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54.

Up week to week in viewers (+14% - 9.6 million vs. 8.4 million) and young adults (+7% - 1.6/5 vs. 1.5/4) to season-best numbers, “Body of Proof” grew its overall audience for the 4th straight week to deliver ABC’s most-watched scripted telecast in the hour in nearly 1 year – since 4/10/12.

Wednesday

Returning to an all-original Wednesday lineup for the first time in 4 weeks, ABC (1.9/6) earned second place to Fox with a 2-hour “Idol” in Adults 18-49. ABC’s “Modern Family” tied “American Idol” in Adults 18-49 as the top-rated broadcast. Once TV playback is factored in, “Modern Family” gains 2.2 Adult 18-49 rating points on average and will likely be the sole No. 1 TV show on the night.

Gaining week to weekat 8:30 p.m. in viewers (+15%) and young adults (+7%), ABC’s freshman season finale of “The Neighbors” dominated NBC’s sophomore season finale of “Whitney” by 2.6 million viewers (5.5 million vs. 2.9 million) and by 50% in Adults 18-49 (1.5/5 vs. 1.0/3).

“Modern Family” (9:00-9:31 p.m.)

More than doubling its Adult 18-49 lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+113%), ABC’s “Modern Family” (3.2/9) held a 100% advantage over its nearest scripted competition in the half-hour (NBC’s “Law & Order: SVU” = 1.6/5). In addition, “Modern Family” ranked No. 1 in the half-hour across all key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54) and Teens 12-17.

“Suburgatory” (9:31 -10:00 p.m.)

In the 9:30 p.m. half-hour, ABC’s “Suburgatory” stood as the No. 1 scripted show with Adults 18-49 (1.9/5). The sophomore ABC sitcom surged week to week in viewers (+26%) and young adults (+27%) to deliver its best numbers in 1 month on both measures. Improving its slot over original programming on the same night last year, “Suburgatory” drew 29% more viewers to ABC in the half-hour year to year (5.3 million vs. 4.1 million).

“Nashville” (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

In its first original airing since February 27th, ABC’s “Nashville” ranked as the No. 1 scripted show in the 10 o’clock hour for its 8th straight original in Women 18-34. Among Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, the show was on par with its last original 4 weeks ago.Catapulting 81% (and +1.3 rating points) over its initially reported Live + Same Day Adult 18-49 rating for its last original, ABC’s freshman “Nashville” was that week’s biggest percentage gainer for any new series, growing from a 1.6 rating to a 2.9 rating in the final Live + 7 numbers.

Thursday

With the season opener of “Wife Swap,” “Grey’s” and the return of “Scandal” (first original since 2/21), ABC ranked No. 1 on Thursday in Adults 18-49 (2.5/7 - tying Fox with “American Idol” and “Glee”).

Among Adults 18-49, ABC earned its top-rated Thursday with series programming since October 4, 2012.

“Wife Swap” (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Up sharply over its last season premiere (on 4/2/10) in Total Viewers (+43% - 5.0 million vs. 3.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (+42% - 1.7/5 vs. 1.2/5), ABC’s “Wife Swap” opener topped all of the telecasts in its previous season to earn its best numbers since April 2009– since 4/17/09. From start to finish the ABC unscripted show gained 8% in viewers and 13% in young adults, despite facing “Idol” in the hour.

“Wife Swap” delivered ABC’s highest Adult 18-49 rating in the time period with series programming in 5 months – since 10/18/12.

“Grey’s Anatomy” (9:00-10:02 p.m.)

Shooting up from its lead-in at 9:00 p.m. (+76%), ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” emerged as Thursday’s No. 1 TV show in Adults 18-49, topping “Idol” on the night for the first time ever(3.0/8 vs. 2.9/9). “Grey’s” won the 9 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (9.4 million) and Adults 18-49 (3.0/8).

Gaining week to week in viewers (+15%) and young adults (+15%), “Grey’s” delivered its most-watched telecast since October 2012– since 10/18/12.

“Scandal” (10:02-11:00 p.m.)

On its return, ABC’s “Scandal” won the 10 o’clock hour in Total Viewers (8.5 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.7/8). In fact “Scandal” has been the No. 1 show in the hour in Adults 18-49 on 7 of its last 8 original telecasts. In addition, “Scandal” nearly caught up to “Idol” on the night in Adults 18-49 and beat the Fox show in Adults 18-34.

“Scandal” ranked as the No. 1 broadcast program in primetime with 191k tweets, topping “American Idol” by 68% (113k).

Building its overall audience by 11% from its last original 4 weeks ago, “Scandal” marked the series’ most-watched telecast ever.

Friday

With the time period premiere of “Happy Endings” leading into originals of “Shark Tank” and “20/20,” ABC (1.3/4) defeated NBC by 30% (1.0/3) in Adults 18-49 and Fox by 86% (0.7/2). In Total Viewers and Adults 18-49, “Shark Tank” was Friday’s No. 1 TV seriesand “20/20” was the night’s top-rated newsmagazine.

In its first original telecast in 3 weeks, ABC’s “Shark Tank” returned to rank as Friday’s No. 1 TV series in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd time in its last 4 original telecasts. “Shark Tank” was the No. 1 broadcast program in the 9 o’clock hour in the key adult demo (1.8/6), outpacing NCAA Tournament coverage onCBS by 6% (1.7/6) and NBC’s “Grimm” by 29% (1.4/4), while more than tripling the performance of Fox’s “Touch” (+260% = 0.5/2).

“20/20” (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

In the 10 o’clock hour, ABC’s“20/20” dominated NBC’s “Rock Center with Brian Williams” by 1.7 million viewers (5.9 million vs. 4.2 million), by 75% in Adults 18-49 (1.4/4 vs. 0.8/3) and by 73% in Adults 25-54 (1.9/5 vs. 1.1/3) to rank as Friday’s top-rated newsmagazinein all 3 Nielsen measures. “20/20” has beaten “Rock Center” in all 8 head-to-head matchups in both key Adult demos and in 7 of 8 in Total Viewers. “20/20” reported on incredible tales of real relationships gone awry with “The Ultimate Betrayal.” Despite facing basketball coverage, “20/20” retained nearly all of its week-ago audience (95%) to draw its2nd-most-watched telecast since December – since 12/14/12.

Saturday

With the 33rd replay of the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille classic, “The Ten Commandments,” ABC ranked as the No. 1 entertainment networkon Saturday night in Adults 18-49 (1.2/4), beating NBCby 50% (0.8/3) and more than doubling Fox (+140% = 0.5/2). ABC hit an 11-week high on the night with Adults 18-49 – since 1/12/13. In fact, the classic movie gave ABC its best Saturday performance with Teens 12-17 in 4 months – since 11/24/12.

Airing from 7:00-11:22 p.m., “The Ten Commandments”finished as the most-watched entertainment program of the night (5.6 million).

WEEK NO. 27:ADULTS 18-49TOTAL VIEWERS

No.1 CBS 2.3 No.1 CBS 9,020,000

No.2 ABC 1.7 No.2 ABC 7,110,000

No.3 FOX 1.6 No.3 NBC 5,430,000

No.3 NBC 1.6 No.4 FOX 5,220,000

No.5 CW 0.5 No.5 CW 1,370,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 03/25/13.